Check-hinge



E. FRANCKAERTS. CHECK HINGE- PR. 22, 1919. RENEWED JULY I8, 1921.

APPLICATION FILED A Patented Oct. 18, 1921. 2 SHEETSSHEET I.

ATTORNEY E. FRANCKAERTS.

CHECK HINGE. PR.,22, I919- RENEWED JULY 18, I921.

INVENTOR flir'zl'leflmaiaerfs ATTORNEY r WMW/ PATENT OFFICE.

EMILE FRANCKAERTS, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

CHECK-HINGE.

Application filed April 22, 1919, Serial No. 291,910. Renewed July 18, 1921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMILE FRANoKAnR'rs, a citizen of the United States, residing at San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Check- Hinges, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to an improved check-hinge, that is, a hinge which is associated with a spring for closing the door, and which is provided with cushioning means for preventing the door from being closed violently by the spring. The object of the invention is'to provide a check-hinge so constructed that the mechanism for closing the door will be contained in as small a space as possible, thereby reducing the size of the check-hinge; which will be provided with means whereby the speed of the door may be varied and the door may be closed through one part of its angular movement at one speed and through the remaining part at a different speed; which will also be pro vided with means whereby the door may be automatically held open at a certain angle, and one in which the parts'may be as compact and as symmetrical in form as possible.

Other advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description thereof, and will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a front view of the check-hinge and portions of the door and door jarnb in the closed position of the former; Fi 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of ig. 4:; Fig. 3 is a broken plan view of the door and check hinge, the door being closed; Fig. 3 is a view, similar to Fig. 3, of. a modified form of the invention; Fig. 4 is a-horizontal section on the line 4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 10; Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section of a plunger; Fig. 7 is a plan view of a washer used in conjunction with said plunger, Fig. 8 is a View of one side of the check-hinge and the parts adjacent thereto, the door being open; Fig. 9 is a view of the other side thereof, the check-hinge being detached from the door and jamb; Fig. 10 is a vertical section of the hinge in the position shown in Fig. 8; Fig.11 is a side view of a plunger rod and plunger, detached.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

Serial No. 485,788.

Referring to the drawing 1 (Fig. 8) indicates a hinge leaf adapted to be secured by screws to the hinged edge of a door 2, and 3 indicates a companion hinge leaf adapted to be similarly secured to an adjacent surface of the door jainb l, said edge and surface being recessed, as clearly shown at 5 in Fig. 3, to receive said hinge leaves. The hinge leaf 3 has at its top .and bottom in planes at rightangles thereto plate-like extensions 6. 7, having registering apertures in which are received unthreaded portions of the stems of screws 8, 9, screwed respectively into a cap 10 and a foot 11, both the cap 10 and the foot 11 having in their sides a circular series of radially extending sockets 12 to receive the end of an instrument for turning them, for a reason which will hereinafter appear. Around .a reduced portion of the foot 1]. can rotate a spring housing 13, in which is contained a watch spring 14;, of which the outer end is bent out at right angles, as shown. at 15, and fitted in a vertical groove in the housing, and the inner end is bent inwardly at right angles, as shown at 16, and fitted in a vertical groove in a vertical stem 18, extending upwardly from the center of the foot 11. Screwed into the upper end of said housing is the lower end of a casing 19, and screwed into said lower end is a lower head 21 which has in its under side a central socket 22 to receive the reduced upper end of said stem 18. Thus said stem 18 and foot 11 can turn relatively to said casing 19, head 21, and housing 18. Fitting into the upper end of said casing is an upper head 23 and rotatable upon said upper head 23 is a sleeve 2d having near its lower end an outwardly extending circular flange 26. Surrounding and screwed to the upper end of said casing 19 and upper head 23, and secured thereto by a screw 27, is a sleeve 29 having a flange 31 extending inwardly over the flange 26, and retaining it in place. Fiber washers 25, 30 are interposed between the sleeve 2 1 and the head 23 and the casing 19 respectively. Surrounding the upper portion of said sleeve 2 1 is an upper spring housing 32 secured thereto by a screw 33, the upper part of which housing surrounds the cap 10, said upper part being recessed internally and containing a fiber ring 35 around said cap 10.

Said housing 32 is caused to rotate with the door by means of a screw 34, which is screwed through a round extension 36, (Figs. 1, 5, 9,) of the hinge leaf 3 closely surrounding the housings 32 and '13, the inner end of which screw 34 enters a socket 37 in said housing 32' and in the sleeve 24. The cap 10 is, however, held stationary with the hinge leaf 3 by means of a screw 38 entering one of the sockets 12 in said cap, and screwed through a cylindrical extension depending from, and formed integral with, a plate 41, having a central aperture, through which, as well as through the aperture in the plate 6, the screw 8 extends, said plate .41 having an extension 42- in a plane at right angles to that of the plate 41 and which is secured by screws to the door jainb in like manner with the hinge leaf 1, thus forming a hinge leaf supplementary to the hinge leaf 1. The purpose of the cap 10, and of the means, comprising the parts 38, 41, 42, for securing it to the door jamb, is to furnish a support for one end of a vertically disposed helical spring 43, contained within the spring housing 32. Its lower portion surrounds'an upper portion, reduced in diameter,of the sleeve 24 while its upper end surrounds a reduced depending portion 44 of said cap 10, the ends of said spring being received in notches 46 and 47, respectively, insaid cap 10 and in a flange 48 extending inwardly from said spring housing 32. 7

Such being the construction of the parts which cause the door to close automatically, the following is the mode of operation. When the door is opened and the hinge leaves are separated from the position shown in Fig. 2, in which they are adjacent to one another, to the position, for instance, shown in Figs. 5 and 10, in which they extend in planes parallel with each other, in which case the door has been swung through two right angles, the opening of the door will have wound up both the upper. spring 43 and the lower spring 14, the lower end of the upper spring and the outer end of the lower spring remaining stationary with the door jamb, and the upper end of the upper spring and the inner end of the lower spring rotating about their common axis through two right angles. Then, when the door is released, the force thus imparted to the springlcloses the door. The spring 43 can be convenientlywound to any degree of tension by first unscrewing the screw 38 out of its socket 12, thenlturning the cap,ancl then screwing the screw 38 into another socket12. I will now describe the provision which I make for cushioning the closure of the door. v

7 Through said sleeve 24 and through the 7 upper head 23 can slide vertically an enlarged portion 49 of tending nwardly into its bore from said chamber within a plunger rod 51. Ex-

sleeve a helical rib 52 which fits snugly leaf 1, does notturn, and, consequently, said plunger rod 51 cannot turn on account of the ribs 54 fittingin the vertically extending grooves 56 therein, It can, however, slide in said head. It is caused-to, so slideby the rotary motion of the rib 52 in the helical non-rotary groove 53, said rib 52partaking of this rotary motion with the sleeve 24 7 and upper springhousing 32, which secured by the screw-34 to the rounded ex-' tension 36 of the hinge leaf 3 t Thus, when the door swings outwardly on its hinges, the sleeve 24 alsoturns and the rib ,52 turns about the axis of the plunger rod, producing. an upward motion of said plunger' rod. The downward movement of said plungerrod 51,- whenthe vdooris closing caused by the co-action of said rib 52 and helical groove 53, is assisted by a spring 57 coiled which spring around the rod 51, thelends of abut respectively againstthe upper-head 23 and aplunger 58. IThismovement forces liquid from the lower portion of the plum ger chamber," below a channel 59 in a lateral extensionor enlargeinent 60 of the casing 19, An upper portion 61 of said channel is enlarged and communicates with the upper portion of a liquid V the casing 19 by a passage 68. But said'enlarged passage 61 is almost closed by a pin 63 which is held down by a screw 64 screwed in said enlargement 60, a washer 66 being interposed between the lower end of. said screw andthe upper end of said pin. The-lower end isslitted, as sho-wn at 6.7, so as to permit liquid to pas therethrough' only slowly. A packingring 66"iscontained in an annular groove in the side of the plunger'58.

A second 1 passage 62 is also provided, leading from the, channel 59 to'an upper portion of'the liquid chamber; The plunger 58. however, does not ordinarily pass said second passage on its downwardmovement. A second socket 37, (Fig. 4) :is, however, provided in theho'using32, and, {when said housing is movedfrelatively to the cylindrical extension 36- so as to bring said second socket 37 nto reg ster with sald screw 34, and

said screw '34has'entered said second socket plunger 58 through a of said pin the passage 68 but also by the passage 62, and, therefore, escapes more rapidly than before and the door closes at increased speed.

The plunger offers practically no resistance to the opening of the door, for, when it is moving upwardly, the' liquid moves freely through an opening 69 in the plunger, which opening, on the downward movement of the plunger, is closed automatically by a ball valve 70.

To prevent breaking of parts due to great force being ignorantly or otherwise exerted to close the door more rapidly than it is automatically closed, there is provided, in the plunger 58, an upwardly opening valve 72 closing a passage therethrough and having a valve stem 73 around which is a coiled spring M in a recess in the under side of the plunger and compressed between said piston and a washer 7 6 secured on the lower end of the valve stem, having fluid passages '77 in its edges.

Fig. 3" illustrates the mode of application of my invention to a door swinging both ways. in this case, two check-hinges are provided, one on each side of the door, the hinge leaf which is ordinarily attached to the edge of the door being common to both check-hinges, as shown at 78, the other hinge leaf to one check-hinge being attached, as before, to the door jamb, and of the other check-hinge being attached to the hinged edge of the door.

In the inner surface of the sleeve 24 is a vertically extending groove 71 in which is placed a suflicient amount of lubricating material to maintain the inner surface of said sleeve well lubricated to permit the plunger rod to slide freely therein.

The upper end of said plunger rod is formed with a central passage 81, which, as shown at 82, opens in the bottom of one of the vertically extending grooves57 where crossed by the helical gI'OOVe 53. By means of this passage 81 the liquid chamber can be filled with liquid.

The downward movement of the plunger rod is limited by the abutment against the upper flaring end of the sleeve 24: of a leather washer 83 on which is a metal washer 84, both surrounding a reduced portion of the plunger rod and retained in place by a nut 86 screwed on the threaded upper end of said reduced portion.

In the spring housing 13 and in the lower end of the casing 19 are apertures, and in the lower head 21 is a socket, all registering with each other and in the cavity thus formed is screwed a casing 88 in which is a compressed coiled spring 89, which presses against a rounded pin 91 slidable in said cavity, which pin slides through the contracted rear end of the casing, but has a head 93 outside the casing and in the cavity, and which pin 91, can when the door is open to a certain extent, enter a hole 92 in the lower part of the extension 36, thus retaining the door in the open position. WVhen it is not desired to use the pin 91, the casing 88 can be screwed into the cavity a sufiicient distance so that the pin no longer projects a SlllllClBJlt distance to be operative.

I claim 1. The combination of a fluid chamber, a hinge leaf attached thereto, a spring housing secured to one end of said chamber, a cap rotatable in the housing, a spring coiled about said cap having its ends attached respectively to said cap and to said housing, a companion hinge leaf of which one end is secured to said cap, a device secured to the other end of said latter hinge leaf, a spring housing rotatable about said second-named cap and also rotatable relative to said fluid chamber, a coiled spring within said last named spring housing, of which one end is secured to said last-named spring housing, and the other to said last-named cap, and means in said fluid chamber for controlling the turning of said hinge leaves relative to each other.

2. The combination of a fluid chamber, spring housings at the ends of said chamber, caps rotatable relative to the housings, coiled springs in the housings having their ends attached respectively to said caps and to said housing, hinge leaves rotatable with the respective ends of the springs, and means in said fluid chamber for controlling the speed of turning of said hinge leaves relative to each other.

8. The combination of a hinge leaf, a fluid chamber secured thereto, upper and lower heads therefor, a spring housing secured to the lower head, a cap rotatable in said housing, a clock spring in said housing, and attached at its ends to said cap and housing, a companion hinge leaf secured to said cap, a sleeve rotatable relative to said upper head, a housing attached to said sleeve, a cap rotatable in said latter housing, a supplementary hinge leaf adapted to be hinged to the same element as the first-named hinge leaf, means for adjustably securing said supplementary hinge leaf to said last-named cap, and means in said fluid chamber for controlling the turning movement of said hinge leaves relative to each other.

EMILE FRANCKAERTS. 

